How to Use a Dip Pen to Create Modern Calligraphy

Modern calligraphy is one of my favorite looks, and the font that I’ve been using on all my personal correspondence lately. Why do I like it? Well, first of all, it’s easy to create with your dip pen. Secondly, it offers a lot of visual appeal. Finally, it doesn’t give the folks at the post office too much of a headache because despite its quirkiness, it’s neat.

This is how I love to use this style on letters:

{If you’re curious, check out my The Art of Snail Mail post [where this image was taken from] to get excited to send some correspondence!}

Variations of the modern calligraphy style are widespread on Etsy, and I just used it to create wedding envelope calligraphy for a client in New Jersey. Despite how easy it looks, though, I only recently figured out how to create modern calligraphy. I would like to pass on that knowledge to you so you can send out pretty envelopes, too, and get some mileage out of your calligraphy pen!

A couple of months ago, I showed you how to use an oblique calligraphy pen. That tutorial is worth looking through because using a straight/regular calligraphy pen requires the same attention to applying varying degrees of pressure to the nib.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

I use Speedball India ink and a cheap Speedball plastic pen holder with a thin nib. I do have some Winsor & Newton acrylic black ink, but India ink is smooth as satin and gives me less grief. I also notice more bleeding with the Winsor & Newton.

You should be able to obtain India ink at any art supply store like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. The same goes for straight dip pen holders, which are more ubiquitous than oblique holders.

The very first thing that I do before creating a piece of calligraphy is draw guidelines. If you want your style to look “off-the-cuff”, you can skip this step. If I am centering my calligraphy, for spacing’s sake I also write it out with a pencil:

Once you have mapped out exactly what you are going to do using a pencil, it’s time to apply the ink! You can watch this video to get a better idea of how to use your pen. The “other style” I am referring to in the video is the more Edwardian style of the oblique calligraphy pen tutorial/video.

If you’ve never picked up a calligraphy pen before, I’m not going to lie — you’re in for some frustration. The nib will spit and spatter ink and you’ll wonder why you aren’t getting the sort of effect you’re seeing on Google Image search and Etsy. Hopefully these tips will help you get the hang of it faster:

While you do need to hold the dip pen like a regular pen, you cannot use it like a regular pen. You have to vary the pressure you are putting on the nib. When you are making a downstroke (making a stroke that goes from north to south), you press hard. When you are making an upstroke (making a stroke that goes from south to north, either straight or rounded), you take off the pressure so the nib is barely “kissing” the paper. The reason for this is if you continue to press hard as you go up, your nib is invariably going to catch in the paper and take you to Ink Spatter City.

Always make sure the tip of the pen is in the same position, facing the same way — as you go up, as you go down, as you go sideways, etc. Never turn the tip of the pen like you would turn, say, a gel pen. Don’t move the pen; move your hand.

The hole in the middle of your nib is a “well” for your ink. When you dip your nib in the ink, make sure you dip the nib just past that well. It may not look like the well is full of ink, but it always reserves some.

Put the nib on the paper ASAP after dipping it in ink. Otherwise you may have trouble getting the ink to flow onto the paper. If you can’t get the ink to flow, try tapping the nib very lightly on your page and some ink may or may not come out. If not, re-dip and try again.

Be sure and wipe off your nib every couple of minutes to ensure a smooth flow. I keep a cup of water by me as I write, and when I notice the ink isn’t flowing as smoothly, I dip it in the water and wipe it off with a paper towel.

Once your calligraphy is complete, you only need to wait 1-3 minutes {depending on how heavy-handed you were on the downstrokes} for the India ink to completely dry. At that point, you can erase your pencil lines, and you’ve got a beautiful, modern calligraphy!

Do you have any tips or questions? Comment below! I’d love to hear from you!

74 Comments

I recently started to try my hand at this and I’m having issues.
I have this ink a friend of mine got for me from Barnes and Noble called Aladine.
The company website is in French, no English version, so I don’t know if they have tutorials or what not.
When I try to use it, the pen seems to always catch on the cardstock paper I’m using and strands of paper tend to get stuck in the pen. Also the ink doesn’t seem to flow as nicely as I could like.

Is this something wrong with my technique or with the pen? Also do you know anything about the Aladine Ink?
Thank you!

Hi DLee! Unfortunately, this is an old blog post, so some of the information may not be so great. 🙂 I would read The Beginner’s Guide to Modern Calligraphy. I am not familiar with the Aladine ink, but it probably has something to do with the card stock, which can be very absorbent and not so great for calligraphy. Try using the ink on a higher quality paper, and you will probably get better results!

Hi Lindsay. I’m new to this calligraphy thing. As a starter I got the Nikko G and Sumi ink. Every time I dip my nib in the ink, I feel like I load too much and it blobs a bit. I even tap the edge of the jar and even do some strokes on scrap paper but end up with fast running ink. I didn’t realise I had to clean the nib every couple of minutes! This is the exact post I needed. Thank you!

Hello! I usually end up on your site when googling new calligraphy styles to try. I’ve bought the Kaitlyn, Beth, and Amy–love ’em! I’m wondering, what is the style for the “Paris is awesome…” and the snail mail letter? I’d also like to learn that one! Thanks!

Hi Maili! Actually, this post is from the old days before I ever developed worksheets. It’s not a specific style … I’d say that, really, it’s a cross between Kaitlin and Amy! Try making curly Amy letters with varying stroke dips like you see on the Kaitlin … you should end up with something like this. 🙂

Hi Lindsey! Thanks for keeping up the answers on this relatively old blog post, and I have another! I really love my Nikko G nib, but I recently ventured out, getting one with a globe tip (?) and bought a hunt 513 nib. My problem, is on my upstrokes, the tip is too sharp and pierces the paper. I’ve tried traditional calligraphy, and I’m trying modern calligraphy with these tips, and both seem to poke through the paper. Any tips? Thanks!!

Hi Cynthia! It sounds like the issue could be related to one of two issues (or, maybe you’re battling both issues!). First of all, you want to make sure your nib is hitting the paper at a low angle — 45 degrees or so is ideal. The more vertical the angle of the pen, the more chance that it will dig in to the paper. Secondly, you’ll want to make sure you’re not using a fibrous paper. 32# laserjet paper or a Rhodia pad are both excellent choices for practice!

Hey Lindsey! I have recently purchased a Speedball pen and ink set from Michael’s. I am finding that the very tip of the dip pen is so sharp that with almost no pressure, the pen is dragging on the paper and almost tearing the surface. Have you ever experienced this? I m also experiencing ink bleeding on any type of paper I have used! Any help would be so appreciated. Your work is amazing and so inspiring.